Gaming entertainment systems typically include a hand-held controller or other controller. A user manipulates the hand-held controller to send commands or other instructions to the gaming entertainment system to control a video game or other simulation. For example, the hand-held controller may be provided with several user-input keys such as buttons or knobs operated by the user, for example a joystick.
Conventional gaming controllers typically merely provide user-input keys, e.g., buttons or knobs for manipulation by the user, where each of the buttons or knobs corresponds to a desired action to be carried out on a display of the gaming entertainment or virtual-reality system. The buttons or knobs are operated by the user applying some form of force, such as pressing, pushing or pulling the buttons or knobs in order for a desired action to be carried out.
Conventional hand-held controllers are configured such that an input provided by the user such as pushing, pulling or pressing the user-input keys corresponds to one of two states of each user-key—an on state and an off state of a switch associated with the corresponding user-input key. Therefore, manipulation of the conventional user-input keys is limited to the on or off state of the associated switches and fails to control a degree to which an action is performed (e.g., by an image subject in virtual-reality).